Emergent mechanics of endocytic protein assembly

Clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME)

in the Drubin/Barnes lab, the majority of us study an intracellular mechanism called clathrin mediated endocytosis (abbreviated to CME), which is the primary pathway for internalization of extracellular and membrane cargo in eukaryotic cells
what this looks like morphologically is diagrammed in this cartoon, which is a cross-section through a eukaryotic cell's plasma membrane
a small patch of plasma membrane and associated cargo is pulled into the cytoplasm and pinched off to result in an endocytic vesicle
concurrent with this is the sequential recruitment of endocytic proteins, which following an initial variable period, all appear with very very predictable timing to assist in the generation of the endocytic vesicle
while members of the lab study many aspects of CME from structure and biochemistry to physiology, my own research has focused on the mechanical forces at play